Using a system developed by FuelCell Energy, methane gas produced by sewage in the treatment facility is put through a fuel cell and reformed into hydrogen. The electricity produced by the fuel cell is used to power the treatment plant, while leftover hydrogen is sent to a hydrogen fueling station, managed by Air Products, that will be able to fuel between 25 and 50 fuel cell electric cars per day.

“This is the epitome of sustainability by taking a human waste and transforming it into electricity which we need, and transportation fuel that we need, as well as thermal product heat that could serve the process of transforming the feed waste into productive products,” said Professor Scott Samuelsen, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, in a statement from Air Products. “This project is at the nexus of the challenge for the next millennium associating how we handle in concert transportation, energy and water resources.”